Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1887-12-01


OF the balloon so that the ring hangs
somewhat below the top OF the car. 1t
is tied so that the weight of my body
when it bears on the fastenings breaks
them loose. and the parachute is free
of the balloon. That have to let go,
and two or three times I have nearly
lost it, and the poor old thing shows
the wounds it has received where it is
patched up. But IL is trusty old
ship, though mean to get new one
for next season.
well, tell me just how you make
your arrangements.
II get a good hold of the iron ring.
That is pretty important, you can bet.
It isn't easy to make any change on the
way down, and If you let go, why,
then you won't make any more jumps,
that is all. But am not afraid of
los ng my hold because have not good
ough grip. My hands are pretty
strong, and can hold on well enough.
The dangerous part of this holding on
is that my arms get strained so through
the wrenching they get from the sway
ing motion, the oscillations, that some
times the strain is very great and they
become completely exhausted. After
have gripped on to the ring, get
carefully over the rim of the basket,
and then drop. There is no need to
spring out. 1t is not so good, because
the straighter down one goes the
easier it is for the parachute to fill out
and be sustained 10y the air"
what are your sensations on the
way DOWN."
"The first hundred feet are the worst
The parachute does not fl | at once, and
80 it is like falling sheer through that
much space. And that is another rea-
son why the drop has to be made lit
tie carefully; otherwise might get
turned over, and though, of course, if
hold on, twill come all right, but the
wrench on my arms would be violent,
and the thing would shake more. 1t
shakes quite enough now, assure you,
although l have improved little on it
in that respect. You can fancy what n
fall of a hundred feet nri5bt bo, though
it is pretty hard to imagine it if you
have never been through the thing.
The sensation is not altogether pleas
ant. it is a giddy sinking through the
air. The condensation of the atmo-
sphere under the parachute, which is
shaped like an umbrella, to catch the
air more readily, brings me up sud-
denly. 1t is almost like jerk, and to
people looking at me seem to stop for
a moment After that the descent is
more gradual, though it is quite fast
enough for ordinary purposes. The
rate of descent is about 1900 feet q
minute. 1 have given the point of re-
sistance which the parachute offers W tn
q certain weight and when it is of a
certain diameter good deal of study.
The sensation is pleasant enough in
summer. Floating down through the
air in that way is cool. 1t is something
like coming down rapidly running
ssFAttes s6G FEEL your st H15d 1S5dy WITH hotfi66ss
around it.
"lhe oscillations begin, however,
and sm swayed from side to side like
pendulum. Sometimes l have been
swung out at an angle of fifty or sixty
degrees. The top part of the parachute,
the umbrella part, does not sway in
this manner. If it fills out oil right
there is nothing TO fear there. But
sometimes it does not, and then mat
ters are ticklish"
How do you land-lightly, or is il
hard to escape getting bruised?'
Generally, have landed without
doing myself any harm. When l see
l am within six or seven feet of the
ground drop. / can land pretty well
on my toes, and if l feel momentum
which would be lIkeiv to throw me
violently down, try to fall on my
right side, and sometimes / turn three
or four somersaults. This breaks the
force. OF course, / can exercise nc
control over m self while / am in tho
air. i have TO land wherever chance
brings me. If it is good height from
which ] drop, and there is strong
wind, / can easily come down at q
place mile or more from the place on
the earth underneath the spot 1 jumped
from. am carried by the wind so that
do not feel it blowing on me very
much. When / make an ascension near
the water, like that at Rockaway Beach
this summer, take up life preserver
with me, so il / fall into the water al
too great distance from the shore to
swim, need not drown"
"Do you feel any nervousness or fear
in undertaking the feat?"
IL always know that there is danger
in it. / couldn't know as much about
the subject as l do and be ignorant OF
that. But do not feel much trepida-
tion in undertaking it. The chances
are that everything will come out oil
right, as they have done in all my de.
scents. Then there IS an excitement
about it. 1t is funny thing, though,
to be performing q feat for an audi.
ence so far below you that you cannot
see anything but dark spot on the
earth. When you get up so very high
in balloon do not think that q per.
son IS as inclined to feel dizzy as at q
much less height from which he can
compare the relative attitudes. But ]
am not subject to dizziness. It doesn't
go we'll with balloonists, and, besides,
| nv training "a n c,rcua man In aa GOT me